


Glossary of Harry Potter and the Deep Dream

by DarkPhoenixLady



Series: The Deep Dream [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Glossary, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:15:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27331783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkPhoenixLady/pseuds/DarkPhoenixLady
Summary: Contains a glossary of the different terms and new characters that appear in the companion story.  Will contain spoilers for the main story.
Series: The Deep Dream [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995562
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This glossary will be updated on an irregular basis to include information that is mentioned in the main story. If you need clarification on something in the main story, drop me a note and I'll make a glossary entry, or expand an existing one.

# Glossary

### Aictuilaxr

A small creature native to the middle layers of the Dream. It looks like a small numbat with furry tentacles instead of a mouth and nose. It can natively see magic, and uses it’s tentacles to detect loose magic that is easy to scavenge. While it survives off of Magic, it likes to use matter to make it’s nests and will take suitable materials from it’s surroundings. When they manage to get to the real world they are considered to be a pest in magical communities because they will eat any spells or wards that aren’t anchored by runes. As such most people will never have seen one. As a defence against predators, it can only be seen with magical senses, creatures using non-magical senses will be hard pressed to even find one. Fortunately they need an environment with far more concentrated magic than can be found on Earth in order to breed, otherwise I fear that all magical communities would have been wiped out when our secrecy charms failed centuries ago.

#### Nixie

An Aictuilaxr that has bonded with Petunia.

##### The world according to Nixie

  * Tree Person – a Muggle
  * Almost Tree – a squib
  * Not Tree – a witch or wizard of average ability
  * Not animal – a powerful witch or wizard or an average goblin
  * Almost animal – House-elves
  * Animal – Unknown – Where she comes from these would be the equivalent of ruminant animals that eat the plants and turn it into magic.
  * Person – Someone that is almost able to shed their physical form, but still needs it for whatever reason.



#### Chirpy

An Aictuilaxr that has bonded with Hermione

### Aes Sidhe

This is the name that the human like fae that live in the 12th world of the dream. They are the strongest of the fae and have a system of governance that splits their people into courts, Seelie, Unseelie, and Slaugh are the 3 best known, but different groups have appeared all over the world, and have been given different human names. The king of all the courts is Oberon, and his wife is Titania. In order to take on one of these two titles an Aes Sidhe needs to live for 24 hours on the shores of the sea of magic, or the 16th world. Those that do are forever changed as they become a creature of magic that wears a form of matter rather than the other way around. Lilly’s Grandmother was one that by chance had the ability to choose to live the life of a mortal as well as the become queen of the Fae or die trying. For unknown reasons she decided to live as a mortal with Lily’s Grand Father.

Where we refer to the worlds in layers based on the density of magic, they refer to the worlds as being between the sea of magic and the desert of matter. Our world is at the far end of the desert, and they cannot live here for long as the lack of magical pressure causes their bodies to break down, much the same way as muggles theorise we would if we went to space. They also can’t survive for long on the next two worlds either. It is theorised that if a witch or wizard were to spend too long in the realms they call home we would be equally unable to return to live on earth.

### Aylith

<https://monster.fandom.com/wiki/Aylith>

### Fae

These are denizens of the late outer and early middle layers of the Dream. Magic is often seen to respond to their whims, although they are also bound to physical forms and easily tricked into agreements that magically compel them to a course of action. The reason for the warning to never thank them is that it normally signifies that they have done whatever was required. This frees them from most obligations that they have been bound to and as creatures of whimsy, their vengeance for binding their will has often been the subject of legend, no matter whether it’s something they brought on themselves or not.

### Hogwarts and the Dream

Hogwarts is an ancient stronghold built by four of the foremost experts in magic of their time. Between the four of them they’d researched much of the pre-roman magical worlds and learned many secrets now lost to time. They had all learnt to walk the shallow layers of The Dream, and so came part of the genius of Hogwarts. They built Hogwarts through The Dream, and added runic charms to anchor those different versions together. In this they built on the Magical advancements of the Egyptians, as where the hidden chambers of the pyramids were only accessible to those who were walking The Dream, these layers were always accessible and so students that accidently fell into the dream due to restless sleep weren’t subject to the nearest worlds. Instead, they would need to delve deliberately in order to go past the protections they fashioned. It is one of very few places in the world where it is mostly safe for a magical to be awake during The Dream, the other places being in South America, China, and India.

It is because of this feature that Hogwarts is acknowledged as being the best school to learn magic at, even as the standards of it’s curriculum have fallen over the last 200 years. Students routinely get exposed to purer levels of magic which increases the control and power of their spells.

#### The Caretaker at Hogwarts

This is an odd position as the reason for it’s requirement in the Hogwarts charter is long forgotten, but nobody alive today has the power to change the charter to remove the position. In reality, the reason it requires a completely non-magical person, and they are required to check the halls at night from curfew to then end of the witching hour is to ensure that any students that are out of bounds near the dangerous times are caught and sent back to their dorms before they can be pulled into the Dream.

### House-Elf

A small humanoid creature that is natively found in the far outer layers of The Dream. They are typically enslaved or hunted by other denizens of that world. Between 1 and 2 thousand years ago a colony of them escaped or were rescued and found their way to our world. As they come from a world where magic is so plentiful, they require magic to live and only supplement it with food. As such they either need to live in a relatively high magic area or bond to a native magical and share their magic. While they are able to think and reason, thus granting them the status of beings rather than beasts, their mental abilities are around that of an average 10 year old in stark contrast to their ability and finesse with magic, in which they are capable of casually performing feats that would take a very powerful and skilled witch or wizard to duplicate.

### Inflation

Prices are quoted in values from 1991, for reference 10G/£50 then would be worth £95 today (2020). Not quite enough to live off, but certainly enough to make life comfortable if you already had money coming in.

### Iron

Created in the heart of stars, this metal is the death knell for both magic and stars. This is due to the fact that it is the convergence point between fusion, fission and Magical manipulation. As such pure iron is antithetical to any creatures from the middle layers as it disrupts their magic flows causing the magic that holds them together to break apart. Only those that utilise a shell of matter can stand the touch of iron for a while. For magicals prolonged contact induces something called Iron sickness, this is where the iron disrupts their ability to draw in magic to replace their reserves, and they find they become exhausted faster and faster until they can no longer recover on their own and fall into a coma. Treatment is fairly simple, as it’s just a process of forcing magic into them until their body starts drawing it in properly again, but it requires that the Healer is stronger than the person that’s suffering. In theory placing them into an environment with a high enough density of magic would also resolve the problem as the ambient magic displaces the magicals own magic.  
Additionally, theoretically a high enough density of Magic will cause iron to break down into other components, but no environment has been observed with sufficient density for this to happen.

### Kragnast

The goblin that oversees the Potter accounts amongst others.

### Little Whinging

A small town in Surrey that replaces Rudgwick, there is no Greater Whinging as it was absorbed during the industrial revolution as Little Whinging expanded away from the train station. Privet Drive was a new development on the farmland off of Lynwick St. There is footpath access through “the park” to the north end of Furze Rd. Unfortunately, the line that served Little Whinging was the last one cut in the Tory cuts of the 70’s leaving the town floundering as property values crashed and people that were using the train to get to Guildford now had to drive.

### Magic Detection

When magic is used it can be detected much like an earthquake can be with the right equipment. The DMLE, as the body responsible for enforcing the law, has a series of detectors around the country with automatic alerts set up for when the magic goes over a certain level in an area, or when they detect wand usage that matches a known list of wands. In the first case Aurors are dispatched to the area immediately, in the second case it generates a report along with a fingerprint of the magic used which goes first to the duty Auror (Think duty policeman at the front desk of a police station.) who checks the report for worrisome spells before either dispatching an Auror or passing the report to the Misuse of Magic office. If it happens when there’s someone on staff, an owl is immediately sent to the nearest detection hub with a warning letter, and from there it flies to the recipient. If it’s after hours (around 9pm – 6am) then the report is dealt with during the next shift. For faster response times, Aurors can set up temporary charms on a detection hub to get the same information that would be reported in the office.

### Magical Strength

c*d = p

c = mass in lb/10

d=magical density

p=power on the merlin scale

Magical capacity is known to be around 0.1/lb or 0.22/kg. This number multiplied by their magical density (Measured in Thaums) gives a measurement on the Merlin Scale. Which for humans goes from around 10 to 1000. Someone with less than 1 Thaum of magical density cannot use a wand as they just cannot exert enough magic to have an effect. Someone with less than 0.1 Thaum can’t benefit from any potions or activate any magical items, they also can’t overcome any spells that are cast on them.

There are spells that when cast by a wand user will give an approximate number of their level on the Merlin scale, these spells are very draining as they basically channel the witch or wizards magic through an arithmantic array to calculate the flow rate given a certain aperture of magical nozzle and ending once a fixed percentage of the users magic has been used.

For healers when they’re checking for magical exhaustion or the effects of certain spells, this is impractical, so they take measure the rough density of magic only using the last two numbers of the result and multiplying it by the persons weight and comparing it to a sample of their current reserves. This allows them to get a quick diagnosis, with the side effect that because they simplify the arithmancy by only taking the last two whole digits, it doesn’t work on creatures with a magical density over 100.

For more accurate measurements they can use a runic density plate which will give the exact number.

### Map

For Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade I am using the brilliant map by Gemzi Bobbaloola <https://gcgraywriter.tumblr.com/post/618546294429024256/hey-all-i-realised-that-i-made-a-boo-boo-on-my?fbclid=IwAR1nI9dZa7kvWuFcj5Z2HL-fqUnLGdXyNoRJAj3Mjmd3pWzzBM2cluPJwH8>

For the world borders I am taking inspiration from this map and moving to the present day <https://www.timemaps.com/history/world-1648ad/>

### Money and Exchange Rates

Unlike the non-magical world, exchange rates in the magical are set by fiat declaration by the government. The last time this was done was in 1980. This means that people are still earning comparable amounts to a wage during that era as Magicals don’t have an inflating money supply. This works out to around 32G a week for the average wage, 50G for a good wage, and a department head or recognised master might expect to bring in 70G. This is between £160 and £350 a week. Given that average wages in 1990 were between £350 and £375 a week, things in the muggle world are currently considered to be a little expensive. This is further compounded by the fact that most Magicals still only have one earning partner, while in the non-magical world there is a massive shift away from stay at home mothers happening. At the winter solstice 1991 the exchange rate changed to 1G - £12.

### Muggleborn

A magical human that is born from muggles. No one is sure how they come about, but the prevailing theory amongst researchers that know about The Dream is that the mother had an encounter with one of the creatures from the middle layer. Possibly one of the small vermin trying to find a place to hide from predators. As muggle houses have no magic for them to feed on, the vermin would either find it’s way back, or die from starvation in short order. When it dies it releases a small burst of extremely pure magic. Not enough to affect a baby or a child, but enough to saturate a foetus. Research on this subject is typically kept private due to it going against the wild held belief that muggleborns steal magic from Pure bloods.

### Nyarlathotep

<https://lovecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Nyarlathotep>

### Prophecy of Darkness

Oh you of wixen kind remember the lessons of iron

Nightmares stalk the dream once more

Beware The Mantle of Light the wearer's soul has turned to darkness

The mundane born lead the way

Hark the reborn children of Light

Ere you of wixen born wasted for the lessons of iron

### Spinewolf

A pack hunter that looks like a cross between a wolf and a porcupine. They are able to teleport short to medium distances and constantly emit a magical field that allows them to identify prey. This field also makes it harder for other creatures to do external magic; it is unknown what effect it has on magic performed with a focusing device such as a wand. The field makes it almost impossible for most forms of teleportation to take effect without expending more magic than most wizards ever have available, indeed pack of 5-6 are enough to prevent even house-elves from teleporting away.

### Spell

A spell is a form of intentional magic that makes use of verbal and or somatic mnemonics to trigger the magic. The actions themselves can be used to help shape the magic, and when they do, as with most Arithmancy based magic, the resultant magic has a distinct signature that can be decoded by a skilled Arithmancer. Wizarding schools all teach Arithmancy based spells as they provide easy and predictable results. This technique was codified by the Romans and is what enabled them to conqueror so much of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Spells can also be formed through Runes, the Norse Runes being the smallest and simplest comprehensive set of runes currently known and allowed the Germanic tribes to hold out until the Romans learnt them; Rituals, often accompanied by elaborate diagrams to channel the magic correctly or resonating stones to amplify the magic, are a third form. Finally, there is pure will with personal mnemonics.

### The Dream

This is the area of the planet that is covered by the joining space between the worlds. The space itself is around 15o wide directly opposite the Sun. Through exploration it is theorised that our world is on the outside of the dream as the further into the dream you go the more magical things are. At the end of the middle layers it is no longer possible for creatures from the outer worlds to survive without fundamentally changing. We have categorised The Dream into 5 sections.

#### The outside

This includes Earth, and includes the first few layers that are fundamentally similar to Earth. When things are thrown up they fall, spells still work the same, and life is mostly similar. Identifying features of these layers include :- Non-magical beings exist. Magic is only visible if it has a visible effect. Nothing native to the layer can subsist purely on magic.

#### The Outer

Similar to the outside, what we know to be true is still true. But, intent has a larger impact than in the outside layers. A ball thrown up will normally come back down, but sometimes it might go sideways, other times it may pause before falling, and sometimes it will fall faster than expected. Spells are also less predictable, though those with strong occlumency will have more consistent spells. Non-magical creatures become impossible to find at these layers as magic permeates everything. Identifying features of these layers include :- There are no non-magical beings in these worlds. Lingering magic is visible as a faint wisp or glow, although transitory magic is still only visible if it has a visible effect. There are creatures that will supplement their diet with magic.

#### The Middle

In these layers vast streams of magic can be seen flowing above the world and magic is now clearly visible. In the outer layers there are still creatures that survive purely on matter, but there are now predators and scavengers that survive off of magic. On the other end of The Middle, everything consumes magic and physical bodies are used as a form of defence much like a tortoise has a shell. The only way to maintain a physical body is to have a strong sense of self, and even then a person needs to be constantly aware of their body and holding it together. We don’t have enough information on the other side of what we call the middle, but we do know that some of the identifying features of the middle layers appear before others, so I will add a category for the late middle after the main identifying features.

Identifying features – creatures of pure magic appear; these creatures do not have a physical form. To start with they are only the size of insects. There are beings that subsist purely on magic. All magic is visible.

Identifying features of the late Middle – Distinct flows of magic are visible in the sky. There are animals that pick up and shed physical forms as some sort of defensive mechanism. Physical items without enough magic start to evaporate. The laws of physics seem to be completely optional. 

The reason that we have so little information on this section of The Dream is that most witches and wizards are unable to reach these layers safely in the first place, and of those that do most of them do so accidently and then never return.

#### The Inner and inside

These layers have been theorised to exist similar to The Outer and outside, but as layers beyond the last of the middle are completely inimical to life from Earth, we have no confirmed proof that they do in fact exist.

#### Travel in the Dream

Delving the dream is a task that is exceedingly dangerous for the novice, but for those with sufficient experience is an eminently survivable experience. Indeed, some of the oldest explorers are able to move between layers as easily as you’d walk through a door, however most novices are unable to change the quality of their magic well enough to stay on one layer instead of falling deeper. Most explorers stay in the outer and outside layers of the dream, as moving further inside fundamentally changes everything that goes in as their bodies are swamped with magic. Combine this with the fact that the dangers and predators in the middle layers are completely alien to our way of thinking and perceiving the world along with what we believe are occasional visitors from the inner layers and survival for even the most experienced delver is a matter of luck. Those few people that have survived the experience report being able to sense and see magic to a far greater degree than, spells come easier, and wands often become superfluous, some have also become able to subsist off of magic alone in high magical areas. It is assumed that Merlin was one such wizard, and that Avalon was one such place.

### The Trace

When a young witch or wizard has confirmed their attendance at their place of education, the arithmantic detail of their wand is added to the Magical Detection Grid and the original copy destroyed. For those attending an institution like Hogwarts, the school sends a list of all the students that confirmed arrival. For those that are being taught by a private Tutor, the tutor is required to register the information. In the event of a non-arrival, Aurors are sent to the students address to ensure that there is nothing untoward preventing the student from attending education. Once they complete their OWLs their wands magical signature is taken by the Examiner and the signature removed from the detection net.  
  
At the welcome desk of the Ministry of Magic, wand traces are taken by the wand clerk for security reasons. It allows them to identify when an unregistered wand is used, and also to locate someone if there’s a problem. You’ll note that they never ask for the holders name, they just take the signature. This is by design so that a specific signature can’t be removed from the device and added to the detection net as the powerful of the nation don’t want the Ministry to be able to track them around the country all the time. Instead the record is cleared out every morning and the only records that are kept are those associated with a crime on Ministry premises. All employees of the ministry have their wand signature recorded so that they don’t need to go through the check each day.

### Urisk

The name that house elves use for themselves in their home world. While there are still some wild Urisk still on their world, most of them live on preserves where they are allowed to live naturally, but are watched over by Sidhe to ensure that their populations remain stable. 

Sometimes they are used for blood sport as the hunting of intelligent prey is greatly favoured by the members of the court. But mostly they are taken as slaves due to their dependence on ambient magic to survive rather than generating their own. This also means that they are one of very few magical creatures that always have to make a concerted effort to delve the dream and can’t do it accidentally.

One of their favoured training techniques is to drop a new Urisk slave off in one of the desert worlds and leave them there for a couple of days. Then offer them some of their own reserves.

### Wands

While completely unnecessary for intentional magic use, due to the way they work as long as they are in hand the users magic is always at hand. They also act as a focusing device to make delicate/subtle work easier. All wands are made with a casing and a core, both of which resonate with their owners magic. A wand that is a perfect match will resonate in tune with their owners magic, and so their magic will flow through the wand without any resistance. A less good match will resonate on one of the harmonic resonances, which is how Ollivander is able to get a good match with premade wands. So wands can be categorised into the following categories

  * A perfect match – Both the casing and the core resonate in tune with the owners magic.
  * A very good match – Either the casing or the core resonate in tune, and the other resonates on a harmonic.
  * A good match – Both the casing and the core resonate on a harmonic, the further away from true the closer to poor the match becomes.
  * A poor match – Either a wand that is on a harmonic that doesn’t resonate well or a wand made with where one of the components doesn’t resonate at all
  * A bad match – None of the components resonate for the owner, so they are having to push magic into the wand to use it as purely a focusing device



As a side effect of their focusing effect, all wands cause the specific resonant frequency of the caster to remain in the spell rather than smoothing out in the way that focus free magic does. This means that the signature can be detected over miles instead of just feet. A poor or better matching wand also only draws magic through that matches it’s own frequency, so meaning that it can be traced the same way.


	2. Magi Robe Inspiration

This is the kaftan that I drew inspiration from for the Magi official dress.


End file.
